Oil falls to two-mth lows on small U.S. crude stock draw, trade war worries - Reuters

Oil falls to two-mth lows on small U.S. crude stock draw, trade war worries - Reuters:

Oil prices fell almost 4% to their lowest in over two months on a smaller-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories and fears of a global economic slowdown due to the U.S.-China trade war.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. crude stockpiles fell nearly 300,000 barrels last week, less than the 900,000-barrel decline analysts forecast in a Reuters poll and well below the 5.3 million-barrel drawdown the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported late Wednesday.

The decline last week reduced crude stocks from their highest since July 2017 seen the previous week, but at 476.5 million barrels, they were still about 5% above the five-year average for this time of year.

“The oil inventories report has added to the bearish sentiment prevailing in today’s trading session,” said Abhishek Kumar, head of analytics at Interfax Energy in London, noting “Demand-side concerns emerging from the ongoing U.S.-China trade war are expected to remain the key driver weighing on oil prices.”

Brent futures fell $2.58, or 3.7%, to settle at $66.87 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped $2.22, or 3.8%, to close at $56.59.